HATTERAS — Barbara McDowell Foster, 69, went to be in the arms of theLord at home on Dec. 31, 2012, just before the new year. She wassurrounded by her beloved grandchildren, her family, and friends.
Barbara was born May 12, 1943, in Michigan and grew up in Fort Pierce,Fla. She received a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from theUniversity of Florida in 1964. She married William “Big Bill” Fosterthat same year, and moved to Raleigh, so that Bill could attendgraduate school at North Carolina State University, while she worked asa microbiologist in the school’s cancer research laboratories.
Barbara moved to Hatteras in 1970. She worked for several years as thesecretary/bookkeeper of the Hatteras Marlin Club. She was one of thefew people in North Carolina to take and pass all of the parts of theCPA exam on the first attempt without an accounting degree. Barbara wasa founding partner of Foster and Parsons CPAs.
In 2005, Barbara was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Shebattled the cancer courageously and with few complaints throughout manycycles of chemotherapy and radiation for nearly eight years.
Barbara is survived by a daughter, Jennifer Foster Johnson, andhusband, Dan, and their children, Chris, Avery, and Delaney, all ofHatteras; a son, Paul Foster of Wanchese; a sister and her closestfriend, Pauline Carden of Chesapeake; a niece, Caroline (Carrie) CardenGeldreich and husband, Randy, and their son, Tyler, and daughter that’sdue in March, all of Richmond; a nephew, David Carden of VirginiaBeach; and a former husband, William “Big Bill” Foster of Hatteras. Shewas preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Hazel McDowell.
A funeral service will be held on Thursday, Jan. 3, at 2 p.m. at theHatteras United Methodist Church with the Rev. Dwight Burrus and theRev. Ken Davenport officiating. Private burial will be held in theHatteras Community Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the church from1 to 2 p.m. prior to the service. The family will receive friends andrelatives at the Hatteras Community Center immediately following theservice. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations bemade to the Hatteras Island Cancer Foundation or to the Hatteras UnitedMethodist Church Bereavement Committee.
Twiford Funeral Home, Hatteras, is assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.twifordfh.com.
